The effectiveness of cognitive-behavioural therapy for temporomandibular disorders: a systematic review

Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) and its effects on temporomandibular disorders (TMD) have been examined in several studies. We are trying to combine results of these studies and to explore the effectiveness. MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trial, Pubmed and the Chinese Biomedical Literature Data were searched to collect randomised and semi-randomised controlled trials (RCTs), comparing CBT with any control group receiving other dental treatments. Two authors independently retrieved, extracted and assessed the quality of included studies. The search strategy resulted in 323 studies, of which five met the inclusion criteria, including three RCTs and two semi-RCTs. The quality of the included studies was diverse. Meta-analysis was not performed owing to five studies involving different comparison groups and follow-up periods. The effect of CBT on patients with TMD is inconsistent among the studies, so no firm conclusion could be drawn in this systematic review. There is insufficient evidence to make firm recommendations for the use of CBT over other intervention for the treatment of TMD. Further high-quality RCTs are clearly needed for this theme.